Kickboxing and How it Can Change Your Fitness

As an older adult, you might be wary about taking on an exercise that involves the word "boxing." However, the sport of kickboxing has seen some growth in the older generations. There are numerous benefits to this exercise, including stress relief. Discover the world of kickboxing, and how it can change your fitness level in only a few sessions.

Flexibility Improvements

Kickboxing requires you to use your core, arms and legs in a coordinated effort. You'll perform these movements with a lot of repetition involved. As a result, you'll have greater flexibility with each workout. Your muscles, tendons and ligaments will soon become accustomed to stretching and moving in certain directions. Because you're more flexible, your body can bounce back from injury better than before. Reaching for an item across the table is simple, and it won't involve a strain that can occur when you're tight and out of shape.

Heart-Centered Workouts

As you kick and punch throughout a session, your heart receives a HIIT workout. High intensity interval training involves intense exercise combined with relaxed movements as you move the heartbeat up and down. Because you're working the heart out, you're achieving cardiovascular goals. Working this muscle only preserves its strength as you enter your 50s and 60s. The blood vessels respond too with stronger walls than before. Because heart disease is a widespread ailment, protecting your heart with a good, kickboxing workout is a smart way to live a long life.

Natural Fall Protection

Kickboxing involves coordination between your mind and muscles. You're actually creating new pathways for signals to move across the nerve synapses. Because of this nerve-signal strength, you have a better chance at avoiding falls. Losing your balance and falling is one of the major reasons why seniors have failing health. Those falls result in broken hips and other ailments. When you participate in kickboxing, your body has more control between the mind and limbs. If you lose your balance, it's easier to catch yourself before an ultimate fall to the ground.

Muscle Growth Across the Body

As you age, muscle tone naturally declines unless you workout on a regular basis. Kickboxing is a great way to build that muscle once again. Striking a target with your arms and legs creates a resistance against your muscles. The tissues respond by developing more muscle for your next session. By participating in regular workout sessions, the muscle will build. You'll have a toned appearance without any bulk. Strong muscles lead to denser bones, which ultimately help you live well into your 70s and 80s.

Weight-Loss Perks

Each kickboxing session can last an hour or longer. During these sessions, you're using and building muscle. The result of your efforts is weight loss. You'll gain muscle while losing fat. When you enter the retirement years, you want less fat because excess tissue can lead to chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Eat a healthy diet so that your muscles can perform during these kickboxing sessions. The fat will seem to melt away as you gain strength and agility. A lean frame is associated with fewer ailments in the senior years.

Kickboxing classes are usually offered several times during the week based on experience levels. Look for beginning classes along with any senior sessions. The popularity of this sport is slowly rising, and it's not unusual for a senior class to be held several times a week. Get to know this sport so that you can kick your way to good health.